Introducing Platoons

Get ready to team up. Today we are introducing the first wave of Platoons features for Battlefield 1. It’s something a lot of you have been asking for, and that we are very happy to finally release. Our focus in this initial release is to add some of the core and most essential Platoons features, such as the Platoon Tag, while building a robust system that we can continue to expand and improve going forward.

Below is an overview of what’s available in this initial release:

Create & Manage – Any player can create a Platoon; you are however limited to one General role, the highest rank and the rank a Platoon creator starts with, at any one time. When creating a Platoon, you can add the following info:

Name – This is required and must be 3-24 characters. Names are not exclusive, although some names may be restricted.

Tag – This is required and consists of 1-4 alpha-numerical characters. Tags are not exclusive, although some names may be restricted.

Description – This is optional and can be up to 256 characters long. Use this to describe your Platoon however you see fit.

Emblem – You can choose an emblem for the Platoon from your own personal Emblem gallery. The emblem is then “copied” to the Platoon, meaning that if you later update your own emblem, it’s not automatically reflected in the Platoon emblem.

AccessType – This selection defines how other players can and cannot join your Platoon:

Open – Anyone can join the Platoon instantly.

Apply-to-Join – Anyone can apply; Platoon members with permissions can accept or reject applications.

Closed – No one can join the Platoon while in this state.

It’s always possible to change any of these values or settings at any time, as long as the Platoon member has permission to modify it.

General – This is the highest Platoon rank and there can only be one General in the Platoon at any one time. The creator will initially get this rank, but can transfer it to someone else (which must be done if you want to leave the Platoon). The General has access to everything, including the option to change name, tag, and even disband the Platoon.

Colonel – Colonel is the second-highest rank and has access to most Platoon management tools, such as editing the description, emblem, and the access type. This means they can step in for the General most of the time.

Lieutenant – The Lieutenant is the lowest level rank with management permissions. Mainly their ability is to accept or reject Platoon applications, if the Platoon is set to “Apply-to-Join”, as well as link their Rented Servers to the Platoon.

Private – Private is the initial rank any new member gets in the Platoon. This rank doesn’t give you access to anything, besides the fact that you are now a member of the Platoon and can represent it and join other members playing. As a rule of thumb, you can always promote someone else to one rank lower than your own, and demote or kick members that are one rank or lower than your own. Rank permissions also always stack, so if you’re promoted you can know for certain that you have the same access as before – and more.

Find & Join – Platoons is all about playing together. In the “Find Platoon” section, you will sometimes get a list of recommended Platoons to join, which is currently based on other Platoons that your friends are representing. Once you’ve found a Platoon, its access type will determine how easy it is for you to join. Maybe you can simply join it right away, or you must apply. If you’re unlucky it’s closed, and that’s that.

Representing and Playing with Your Platoon – For many players, representing your Platoon is what it’s all about and we have tried to make this process easy, smooth, and awesome with the new system. First, you can always only represent one Platoon at any given time, and you can also choose not to represent any. You will retain your membership and rank in the Platoon; it’s basically just something you toggle. When you represent a Platoon, its tag will automatically be displayed in front of your name and its emblem will automatically be displayed wherever your emblem is usually displayed. This essentially “overrides” your equipped emblem; when you represent a Platoon, we want you to really represent it.

Besides having the tag and emblem, if you fill up a squad with other players that represent the same Platoon, the squad will automatically be renamed to the Platoon’s name. Furthermore, if your represented Platoon contributed the most to a Flag Capture (with at least two members present), a pennant carrying your Platoon emblem will be shown on the flag pole. More bragging rights for you.

We currently employ limitations of 100 members per Platoon – if your group is more than 100 people, we suggest you create more Platoons with the same name, tag, emblem and description – and you can at max be a member of 10 Platoons. This includes pending applications; if you are a member of 8 Platoons and have 2 Platoons with pending applications to join, you will not be able to join or apply for any other Platoon unless you leave a Platoon or cancel an application. Increasing these limits are something we will consider going forward.

One of our primary focus areas has also been to more easily facilitate playing together in groups, so we’ve added the ability to always see where your Platoon is playing and join them.